Model Master Paint

[MESHER]

Since all Model Master jet greys are dead flat has anyone ever mixed Testors Gloss Coat with the paint to get a semi-gloss finish for decaling?

[gotarheelz14]

I haven't heard of anyone using Testor's glosscoat but I have heard of several people actually thinning their model master ACRYLIC paints with future. This achieves a more durable bond between paint and plastic and also leaves a gloss surface to directly decal over.

Carlos

[zeus60]

To re-emphasize what Carlos mentioned, you can only use Future with acrylics (MM Acryl or Polly Scale). You can not use it with enamels.

[gotarheelz14]

Yep Yep. Using them with enamels would just be a downright sticky mess I would think.

By the way, after hating future for such a long time. I finally just nailed it with some of yall's advice here. Thin, misty coat, thin misty coat, moderately wet coat...perfection.

[DutyCat]

Yep Yep. Using them with enamels would just be a downright sticky mess I would think.

By the way, after hating future for such a long time. I finally just nailed it with some of yall's advice here. Thin, misty coat, thin misty coat, moderately wet coat...perfection.

Did you thin it with Windex or spray it straight?

[gotarheelz14]

I just sprayed it straight. I have heard good things about thinning it with windex or doing windex mist coats. I like it better straight up though. Sometimes when I do windex coats or add a bit of windex into the cup it makes for a softer finish. What I mean by softer is that it doesn't dry as hard. It is a lot easier to accidentally make fingerprints on the plane if you hold it for too long in one spot.

I guess I just need to let it dry/cure longer.

[RichardL]

Since all Model Master jet greys are dead flat has anyone ever mixed Testors Gloss Coat with the paint to get a semi-gloss finish for decaling?

Instead of mixing Testors Gloss Coat with paint, why not just use the gloss coat by itself on top of the paint prior to decaling?

[DutyCat]

Instead of mixing Testors Gloss Coat with paint, why not just use the gloss coat by itself on top of the paint prior to decaling?

He is just trying to save himself a step (being lazy!).

I understand why folks would want to do this, but what they, and a few paint manufacturers have not thought about (and thank goodness Testor's has), is the practical aspects of airbrushing a camo paint job. You simple MUST handle the model in order to work your way around it and get the airbrush in close at the correct angle so it can do its job. You just can't sit the model on a Lazy Susan and spin it around. That works for topcoats and monochrome schemes, but for camo, you need a fast drying flat so that you can safely handle the model almost immediately after paint goes on. You don't want to jack up that perfect feathered edge you just applied to the fuselage because you are now handling the jet in order to stick your airbrush in between the tails fins at the needed angle. When I do a 1/72 three or four tone paint job, I am usually at it for hours, switching between colors, tightening up lines and correcting small mistakes. I would not be able to do that with gloss paint.

On a related note , most of Humbrol's modern USAF/USN TPS colors are semi-gloss, including Light and Dark Ghost Gray. They remain tacky for an hour or more. That is just not acceptable. That, and some color fidelity issues with those two colors (LGG is too light. DGG is too dark, and neither has the slightly blueish tint that characterizes these two colors) , are why I don't use them. On the other hand, Humbrols "Medium Gray" is completely flat and dead nuts on for freshly applied paint. I love that color. However, the real color loses some blue fairly quickly in operational service. Testors medium gray is less blue, but probably more accurate for a plane that is not freshly out of the paint barn.

To address your specific question about the mixing.....you will have to experiment. One is an enamel and one is a lacquer. However, they are in the same range, so it may work.

Edited March 6, 2010 by DutyCat

[Spitfire88]

It has nothing to do with being lazy with an extra step of applying a gloss coat. I was use to using Gunze paints which were a semi-gloss and then a light future coat and then decals and wash and then a flat coat. But I can't get Gunze paints any longer. I love the shades of Model Master and IMHO think their FS colors are much more accurate shades but I have heard that applying a gloss coat over a flat paint does not provide as nice a surface as using a semi-gloss paint that is why I was asking. I will use an old kit and paint a wing with Dark Ghost Grey and then a future gloss coat and see how it turns out.

[RichardL]

Gunze paints are great, but I like MM Acryl and PollyScale just as much. A couple of coats of Future will fill in the microscopic valleys in the flat paint - good enough for decals to lay flat. Here is my Gunze rack:

[RichardL]

But I can't get Gunze paints any longer.

You can still get most Gunze paints from Great Models